Child of the Mist
by Ivyna J. Spyder
Summary: The events of Vivi's earlier years...
1. Default Chapter Title

Child of the Mist (Part 1)

* * *

Author's lengthy note: Okay then, here it is, my lil' fic about Vivi's past. ^_^ I had always wanted to do one of these, specifically about Vincent or Sephy from FF7 But, by the time I had gotten around to it, about ten dozen other people had, so I figured it would be silly to But so far, I haven't seen a single fic like this! Mine will be the first! MWAHA- er, well, I think it is.

After many starts, restarts, and re-restarts, I have settled on this (hopefully) final version. (I still hate the beginning, but out of the twenty or so I wrote, it's the one I hate the least. ^_^;;;) Of course, while I stuck to what little info we got on the game, I had to make up some things here and there Like how Vivi ended up on Quan's fishing hook

Please forgive the terribly Myuutsuu no Tanjou' (Birth of Mewtwo)-ish parts of this fic Sorry, but I think baby Mewtwo-sama and lil' Vivi-sama were probably in the same sort of state of mind (confused and scared, wondering what the heck was going on) when they first became sentient or whatever Not to mention Mewtwo-sama's child' voice would be nearly perfect for Vivi In my humble opinion, anyways. =P

Also, I think Vivi and baby Mewtwo are a lot alike. They were both created instead of being born. That's why it's gonna be like The Birth of Mewtwo' (it's a terribly cute and sad Japanese radio drama, you can get it at Amazon.com for 40 bucks! 0_o) because as I said, I think how Mewtwo felt was probably what Vivi first felt It was probably a lot worse for Vivi, though. Mewtwo had his friend Ai to help and teach him, and explain what was going on

So, without further babbling, here it is =) (Stuff in italics is Vivi's thoughts, btw)

* * *

__

__

_What's going on?_

_I don't understand_

_Where am I? It's so dark_

_Who am I?_

_I don't know _

_Should I know? Am I supposed to know? Am I even here at all?_

_I'm so confused _

_I'm scared_

* * *

"What kind of cargo are we transporting?"

"Dunno'." The man shrugged back at his friend. "Somethin' real important. Secret, too."

"Yeah, we're just here to transport it, I know the drill" the first man sighed, leaning against the cargo ship's railing. They had received orders to pick up a mysterious cargo. They just had to bring it to a rendezvous point where someone else would take it. No one ever told them anything, and they didn't mind. Besides, this was good money.

"Aren't you just a bit curious?" the first man asked.

"Yeah, a bit. But it ain't our business. Besides, we couldn't open those barrels if we wanted to."

The first man shrugged. "It could be somethin' real valuable. Worth more than they're payin' us."

"I find that hard to believe." Said the second, smiling as he thought of the ridiculous sum of gil they were to receive after this. Who would pay so much money for such a simple job? But why was he thinking about complaining?

He was so busy thinking about what he was going to buy with his newly acquired fortune, that he didn't notice the huge winged beast streaking for the airship.

"Oh shit!" the first man shouted as he spotted it. It was some sort of Mist monster, that he was sure of. It was like some sort of lizard, or more accurately a dragon. It wasn't very big, but its claws could easily tear the balloon holding the ship up. Monsters attacking ships only happened occasionally; the creatures seemed to prefer remaining beneath the cover of the Mist. Not this one, apparently. The second man, who was steering, swerved so it would hopefully miss.

* * *

_Everything's moving now What's going on?_

* * *

"Left, left!" the first man screamed to his friend as he tried to track the movement of the monster. "No, up, go up!"

"This ship can only move so fast!" he shouted back. "Try throwin' something at it!"

"I somehow doubt that'll work!"

For several moments they were able to dodge the dragon's attacks. Luckily, it wasn't very agile either. The ship soon found itself near one of the continent's outer mountains.

"We can't stay above the Mist for very long!" the first man warned.

"I know, but maybe we can land and- AAAAAHH!!"

The ship was suddenly slammed into, sending it careening away. Before they could maintain control, the monster attacked again, this time hitting one of the barrels on the side of the ship. It cracked open into splinters, sending what was inside falling to the ground below

* * *

_It's still dark_

_I think I'm moving faster Falling? I don't know what's happening_

_!!_

_Huh?_

_I stopped What's happening?_

* * *

Quan had been sitting peacefully at the ledge overlooking the ocean behind his home. He was a Qu, a large and bizarre creature with a white face, two tiny eyes surrounded by a four-pointed pattern, and a long tongue hanging from his wide mouth. His clothing look with oriental, covered with symbols and dragons and such. He wore a tall hat with a flat square top, with two ball-shaped ornaments hanging from either side.

He had decided he had a taste for fish, so he decided to go fishing. So far he hadn't caught anything, which upset him because he had wanted to try out a very tasty sounding recipe-

The line was suddenly jerked downward.

"I got something!" he exclaimed, jumping up. He began reeling it in, hoping it was some big, delicious fish. It didn't feel very heavy, though, and it didn't seem to be struggling either

He finally saw whatever he had caught as it appeared over the end of the ledge.

It wasn't a fish, as far as he could tell. In fact, he had never seen anything quite like it.

The thing was human in shape, and about the size of a small child. It was wearing a blue overcoat, held together on its chest with leather straps, and blue-green and white striped, very baggy pants. On its head was a pointy, floppy brimmed hat, and it wore reddish colored gloves and boots. Strangest of all was its face, which was the only visible part of it. It was completely black, and mostly hidden from view. Quan could see two eerily glowing yellow eyes, which seemed to be looking straight at him.

Confused, Quan set the weird pointy-hatted thing on the ledge, and went to get the hook off from where it was caught on its jacket. It didn't move at all, and Quan stood back to look at it. They just stood there for a few minutes.

"You not food." Quan concluded.

"" It just looked at him.

"I wonder what you are" Quan brought a pudgy hand up to his chin. "You look like human boy. Almost. You human boy?"

""

Quan frowned a bit. "You speak?"

""

"If you no answer, I just going to say you are!"

""

"You have name?"

""

Now he was frustrated. "You alive at all?!"

Startled by the sudden outburst, the pointy-hatted boy jumped back, tripped, and fell.

"Ow" he said quietly.

"What? You say something." Quan moved closer. "Hmm you hurt?"

The pointy-hatted boy looked down at himself, then up at Quan.

"Say something, or can you no talk? You mute?"

_I can understand what he's saying Can I talk? I've never tried_

"Can you talk?" Quan asked again.

"U-um" he began quietly. "I-I-I"

"You speak, then? That good. What your name?"

"N-n-name?" he stuttered.

_I guess I can talkSo that's what I sound like?_

"Yes, name! Everyone have name. Is what you called. My name Quan."

_Name? I don't think I have one No one ever gave me one_

"U-um I d-don't have a n-name." He admitted.

_I wonder how I know to talk. Did someone teach me? I don't remember_

"That strange." Quan said. "Where your parents?"

"Parents?" he repeated, tilting his head to one side.

"Yes, mother and father! Everyone have parents. Maybe you orphan?"

"I-I don't think I have p-parents, either" he said, getting more confused by the second.

_What are parents?_

"Um, w-what are parents?" he asked aloud.

Quan thought. "You not know? Strange Everyone born, and have parents. They take care and raise you. I have parents, but they gone now."

_Has anyone ever taken care of me?_

"Y-you're the first person I've ever met" he said, looking down at his gloved hands.

"That strange too Maybe you have amnesia. I heard of it, where all memories gone. Is very bad, and you no can remember name or family. But you not seem know anything"

_What am I supposed to know? This is so confusing_

"But that enough talk now. Is lunch now, time to eat."

"Eat?"

"You not know that, either?!" he seemed shocked. "You eat food."

"Food?" he repeated. Quan's jaw dropped. This strange child must have very bad amnesia!

"Come, I show you." Quan motioned towards the entrance of the cave. The boy had an idea what to do, and took one shaky step forward

And promptly fell on his face.

"Ow" he stood up, brushing himself off. More carefully, he walked inside.

_This is all so confusing I don't know what I'm supposed to know I don't understand_

Quan paused before following the child inside. "Hmm, maybe if he bigger he make good meal"

End part 1

So? Was that okay so far? ^_^;; There's more, but I need ta' know if I should even continue As for the cargo ship thing eh, I wasn't too sure about it. That's just what Vivi had figured had happened on the game, so I decided to stick with it. =) Please be nice in reviews, I'm not used to writing this sorta' thing. Funny's more my style, to be honest. (I'm workin' on an FF9 fic called Death's Day Off'. It's just bizarre =P) Thank you!


	2. Default Chapter Title

Child of the Mist (part 2)

* * *

"You ask many questions." Quan remarked about a month later to the child wearing the pointy hat. In fact, that was all he had been doing since Quan had found him. He learned quite fast, even though, as far as Quan could tell, the child knew absolutely nothing about the world. He had even asked what the sky was! How could someone not know that?

"What's this?" the child asked, holding up a small knife.

"That is paring knife. You put it down, it could hurt you."

The child quickly dropped it, drawing his hands back to his body. "I-it could?"

"Only if you not careful. Knife sharp, used to cut things."

"Oh"

Quan had seen human children during his visits to the nearby city of Treno. There were the well-dressed children of nobles, and the much scruffier ones living in the poorer sections. This pointy-hatted boy didn't look like any child he had seen. And he was beginning to doubt his original theory about amnesia. 

He wasn't sure what to think. His life had been the same as all Qus, their main goal being to learn things by eating. Though it may sound very strange to a non-Qu, it was simply the way they lived. Thinking about things in any other way aside from Is it edible or not' wasn't something he was too familiar with.

"What's this?" the boy asked again, this time pointing to a jar of odd-looking peppers he saw on the shelf.

"Those dead peppers. They very, very rare. Not grow anywhere. I spend lot of gil for them, they only for very special occasion."

"Dead peppers? What's dead mean?"

"Hmm? Dead mean not alive. We alive now."

The child looked confused for a moment, but just shrugged.

_It's still so hard to understand things But Quan is very nice. I'm glad he was the first person I met._

"You say you no have name" Quan began. "You know anything though? About who you are?"

The child concentrated for a few moments. "Um.... B-black mage?"

_That just popped into my mind Is that what I am? How do I know it though?_

"Um, yeah. Black Mage." He nodded, though unsure himself.

"You Black Mage?" Quan said as if he'd heard it before. "I read in book, Black Mages people who use black magic. But there not many, they disappear long time ago in war."

_This sounds interesting_

"I'm a Black Mage, though."

_I guess I am, anyway Somehow I just know that Why? Did someone tell me?_

"Yes, that also strange."

"Do you know more about Black Mages?" the child asked.

_Maybe it'll help me understand some things_

"Some. I read about it once. There was war between people who no can use magic, and people who could. People who could were mages. Many types of mages, use different magic. Some mages were bad, and used magic to harm. They called Black Mages, because of black magic they use. They get too much power, want to rule Gaia. There was war, and bad mages lost. Not sure what happened, but because they lost, then there always very few Black Mages. I never see one until I meet you. I thought they look different, though"

The child seemed a little upset by this story, and was looking down at his clasped hands.

"Black Mages are bad?" he asked quietly.

"What? No, not all. Book say there good mages too."

"You said they hurt people"

"Not all. You not bad."

"What's a war?"

"War is where many people fight, many die. Is very bad. There no wars now, world peaceful. Everyone happy."

"That's good What's magic?"

"Magic very special. Is power some can use. Can be used to hurt or heal. Many different kinds of magic."

"C-can you use magic?"

"I know few spells. My tribe learn much by eating. I know lot of things."

_If I'm a Black Mage Does that mean I can use magic? But he said it hurts people I don't wanna hurt anyone_

"Um, do you think I-I can use m-magic?"

"You Black Mage, so probably can. They very powerful with magic."

"D-didn't you say it hurts people?" he asked worriedly.

"It can, but only if use on people. Magic used to fight, and defend self. If you attacked by Mist monster, you use magic, scare it away."

"Oh" he said. That sounded okay. The young mage had only seen one monster. Quan had taken him outside of the cave where he lived to the nearby forest. He had been overwhelmed with all the things he had seen, and Quan had barely been able to keep up with his questions. Then some sort of thing had appeared from no where. Some huge thing with many legs.

_It was scary But Quan made it go away. It's a really good thing I met him first_

(Author's Note: As for my little story about the war, that was just something I thought up I think a weapon had a description that said something about a war against mages, or at least fighting them. And one thing that always got me was that Zidane and the other chars knew what a Black Mage was, apparently before meeting Vivi, so I figured there must be natural' Black Mages too Just a lil' theory. =)

* * *

Several more months passed. The Black Mage child learned quite a bit from Quan. Eventually he found himself thinking less about his lack of a memory, and tried to focus more on learning about Gaia.

Quan found what he thought was a good name for the Black Mage, Vivi'. He said he had heard or read it somewhere, and the child thought it was a good name, too. So then he was called Vivi.

Quan considered Vivi to be a very likable person. He was much different from the rude children in Treno. He was very polite, if a bit on the shy side. He didn't even mind the near constant questions that much

Vivi had started calling Quan Grandpa'. Quan didn't quite get why Vivi started calling him that. Vivi had said since he didn't have parents, that he kind of considered Quan like a parent, because he was taking care of him. He chose to call him Grandpa rather than Father, though. He said he liked it better. Quan didn't mind.

That day, Vivi noted that Quan was in a rather bad mood. This worried him, because nothing seemed to upset his Grandpa, expect maybe if his food got burned when he cooked it

Quan had gone to Treno the day before, he had said to meet up with someone important. Vivi hadn't bothered asking whom, and just nodded. He had to stay at the cave; Quan said Vivi was too young to go to Treno, and it could be dangerous. Not that he knew how old Vivi was. He said that since Vivi didn't remember anything from before Quan found him, maybe they should just start at zero.

_I might as well have just been born a few months ago I wonder if I was_

When Quan had come back, a little late, he was obviously upset. Vivi had tried asking, but Quan only mentioned something about some stupid fool who no can think past food!'.

_I don't think Grandpa wanted to talk about it I hope whatever happened wasn't too bad_

Vivi wanted to ask, but also didn't want to upset him. Luckily, Quan explained without being asked.

"I just have argument with someone I know. I used teach him, but no more. He never good student, now I see that better. Vivi good student. I teach Vivi now."

"O-oh." He said, a bit more confused by the vague explanation. By then, though, the little mage was getting used to the way his Grandpa thought and spoke. Almost, anyway

"Vivi teach me, too." Quan added after a moment. 

_What does he mean by that?_

"I see maybe things important other than food, but learn anyway. Is strange, but make sense. But he not understand, and no want to. He lost cause."

_Who's he'?_

"It not matter now."

"Okay"

* * *

Time passed. Vivi's knowledge grew, though he didn't seem to grow in body much at all.

"Maybe you not eat right things." Quan had commented near Vivi's second birthday. (Or at least the same day Quan had found him two years before.) "But you just child, maybe you grow more later."

Vivi didn't consider his life with Quan boring. (Even though to others, it may have seemed that way.) He had never really lived any way else, so it seemed normal to him. Besides, Quan was always finding new things to teach him about.

_There's a lot to know I wonder why Quan thinks it's so strange I don't know these things? He said everyone know that!' but that can't be true, because I didn't_

"Grandpa, can I ever go with you to Treno?" Vivi asked for what was probably the hundredth time, or that's what Quan felt like it was. "I'll be careful."

"Vivi still too young. Treno not good place for child, you wait."

"Okay" he never argued with him. After all, Quan obviously knew more than he did, so he was probably right. Still, he wouldn't mind going to explore a little

_Maybe I can meet other people like me Are there others like me though?_

Of course he had met other people. Some people from Treno occasionally visited who Quan knew. Vivi was surprised how different they all looked. Quan said that some of them were humans.

_Am I a human, too? Grandpa says I am But why do they look so different? _

Quan told Vivi he shouldn't worry about it. So Vivi didn't. After all, his Grandpa was always right about things.

* * *

Until one day, a few months before his fourth birthday, Vivi had never been really frightened by anything. There was a memory of being confused and scared of something, but it was vague.

Vivi was in the large cavern leading to the small room holding all of Quan's things. He was on the stone path above a steaming pool of mud, kneeling as he looked over the edge.

_I wonder what that is?_

He had seen something down at the bottom level of the cavern. Something sparkly down by a rock, but he was having a hard time trying to see it again.

_I'll go down and see what it is_

Vivi stood back up, and started to turn towards the rope leading down.

He wasn't sure what happening next. As he turned, one of his feet slipped or maybe the edge of the path gave way. All he knew that was he suddenly found himself tilting precariously over the edge of the stone path. He gyrated his arms wildly, trying to grab onto something, but there wasn't anything.

He briefly thought that the ground never looked so far down before

Then he fell.

_I'mfallingI'mfallingI'mgonnagethurt!_

"Aaaaahhh!!!"

Instead of falling straight down into the mud, he hit a smaller ledge below the one he fell from, then tumbled from that one to the left onto cave floor next to the mud pool.

"Vivi?" Quan ran from the smaller cave when he heard the scream. He didn't see Vivi. "Vivi? Where you go?"

The mage lay stunned on the ground from the fall.

_Everything hurts_

He heard a thump nearby as Quan jumped the last few feet from the rope.

_Is it supposed to hurt like this? I don't like this_

"Vivi, what happen?!" Quan exclaimed, running over. "Vivi okay??"

_I still feel scared_

Quan helped Vivi up, asking what had happened. Vivi didn't say anything at first.

_Why is there water in my eyes?_

Confused,Vivi raised one gloved hand to wipe away the tears forming in his glowing eyes.

_What is this?_

"You crying?" Quan asked worriedly. "You okay?"

_Crying?_

The young mage started sobbing.

"Vivi not okay? You get hurt?"

_I can't stop crying_

Vivi just stood there, tears running down his black face. Then suddenly he grabbed onto the front of Quan's shirt, crying louder. A bit unsure what to do, Quan put one arm around the sobbing child.

"Vivi, what happen?"

"I-I-I dunno" he managed to say, sniffling. "I-I was l-lookin down, and s-something happened a-and then I f-fell and I was s-scared and it hurt and" He continued crying.

"Is okay now, Vivi!" Quan tried to assure him. "You not get hurt bad, is okay! Vivi not need to cry!"

Gradually his sobs grew quieter, and he rubbed the tears from his face. "I was so scared It was so high up"

"Vivi okay now!" Quan repeated. "Vivi no need be scared. You safe."

"O-okay Grandpa" he said, sniffling a little.

"Nothing hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt much anymore"

"That good. We go back up now."

When they got back up to the ledges, Vivi cautiously walked over to the one he had fallen from. He reeled back a bit as a feeling of vertigo rushed over him. He hurried back over to Quan.

_I don't like heights anymore_

End part 2...

Thank you to the people who responded to part 1... I'm enjoying writing this actually. ^_^ It's not easy, but challenges are good....


	3. Default Chapter Title

Child of the Mist (Part 4)

* * *

"Vivi, today you four years old." Quan stated to the little mage sitting on the stone table in their home. "What you want do today?"

He thought for a moment. "Um, I-I wanna go to-"

"No, we **_not_** go to Treno." Quan had obviously been anticipating the question. "Maybe next birthday."

Vivi sagged a bit, but suddenly hopped down off the table. "Grandpa, c-can you take me somewhere else then? You told me out those other places, like Alexandria and Lindblum, can we go there?"

Quan considered this for a moment. "Alexandria not far, but very expensive to get there, but I not want take you through Mist either. Dangerous monsters there"

"I wanna go somewhere, though" he said sadly.

"I know, but we start small. Maybe we go down to beach?"

_Does he mean the beach under the ledge?_

Vivi shuddered a bit thinking of how far down the beach looked from up there. He found he could barely handle high places anymore. Quan had been trying to help him get over it, but that was easier said than done.

"H-how'd we get down there?" Vivi asked.

"There path down side of mountain. It not too far from here. I not have many reason to go, but if Vivi want to"

"U-um, I want to!" he said quickly. "What's a beach like, anyway?"

"Beach where land meet ocean. There lots of sand and water. Maybe we catch tasty fish, too."

"Can we go now?" Vivi asked excitedly.

_The beach sounds neat And it's really low so I won't have to be afraid of falling!_

He giggled quietly.

"I just pack us lunch, then we go." Quan replied.

* * *

It wasn't very far from the cave to the path. The path was stair-like and obviously man (or man-like) made, and someone had even put railings at certain points. The way down took considerably longer than it took getting there.

Vivi made sure to stay close to the side of the path near the rock.

"Vivi have nothing to be afraid of!" Quan said, shaking his head.

"I-I know but I still feel like I'm gonna f-f-fall"

"Just no look down. Pretend on normal ground." He suggested, continuing ahead on the path.

Vivi took a deep breath, and adjusted his hat.

_Okay I'm not really high up I'm on normal ground, just down go and look over the edge-_

Of course, he did anyway, and stumbled back against the rock wall.

_If I don't go all the way down, I'll never see the beach _

That thought seemed to help motivate him, and he went to catch up with Quan.

* * *

From the beach, the ocean somehow seemed bigger than up on the high ledge. That's what Vivi was thinking, anyways, as he stood on the sands looking out at the water.

_Wow I like the beach already! I wonder why we never came here before?_

Quan, a bit tired from the walk, went to sit on a rock. "You stay where I see you!" he shouted.

"Okay!" Vivi called back. He walked up to where a few inches of water rushed up the sands as the waves crashed further out.

_I wonder why the water does that? It looks like it's alive or something But water isn't alive, is it?_

He quickly went to ask Quan.

"Grandpa?"

"Hmm?" Quan looked up from unpacking the basket of food he had brought.

"Why's the water moving like that?"

"You mean the waves? The wind make waves."

"Oh!" Vivi turned toward the water again. "Can I go in the water?"

"Yes, Vivi can, but not far! Tide can pull you very far out into water."

Vivi started to look a bit less enthusiastic about the idea, which Quan noticed.

"It not dangerous if Vivi stay close to shore. I watch, make sure you safe."

"Th-thanks Grandpa!" Vivi said cheerfully, running back to the water's edge. Of course, he tripped, and got a face full of sand.

"Vivi okay?"

"I'm okay" he said, getting up and brushing off the sand.

_At least sand's softer to fall on than rock_

Quan sighed, then munched on one of the snacks he brought.

Vivi approached the water again. He spotted something sticking out of the sand and picked it up. It was some sort of spiral-shaped shell.

"I wonder what this is?" he said to himself. He put it in his pocket to show Quan later.

A particurally large wave sent a few inches of water suddenly rushing up towards him, and he jumped back, falling again.

_I should probably take my boots off so they don't get all wet_

He took them off after unbuckling them, and set them on a rock where he hoped the water wouldn't get them. Then he ran (the sand was hot!), carefully, back down to the water. After rolling up the cuffs of his baggy pants as much as he could, he stepped out to where the shallow water was.

_This feels nice! Hmm, maybe I can learn how to swim someday, too_

He was far from being brave enough to venture further into the water, and besides he really didn't want his clothes getting all wet, so the little mage walked a bit down the beach to where he saw some rocks. He noticed a pool of water had collected among them, now out of reach of the waves, so he went to investigate.

Vivi knelt at the edge of the pool and peered in. There were more shell things, except some of them were moving. He even saw a few tiny fish swimming around.

He reached back into his pocket for the first spiral shell he found.

_Wait is there something inside?_

He put one gloved finger in the opening at one end.

"Ow!" he cried out as something clamped down on it. Some sort of crab-like thing with one big claw had grabbed on. He shook his hand, trying to get it off. "Let go!" Vivi tried prying off the claw with his other hand, but he wasn't able to get a grip.

_I don't wanna' hurt it, and it's really not hurting me Maybe it'll let go by itself? _

The hermit crab seemed quite happy hanging onto his hand, though.

_Maybe Grandpa can get it off!_

Vivi walked back over to the Qu. He held up the hand with the crab on it.

"Oh, Vivi catch crab!" Quan exclaimed. "Or did crab catch Vivi?"

"C-can you please get it off?" Vivi asked.

"Crab taste good, I know good recipe." Quan said, trying to pull the crab off.

"But I don't wanna eat it." Vivi said after the crab let go.

"Hmm? Why not?"

"I saw some other crabs in a pool. Um m-maybe they're its friends, and they'd be upset if we ate this one."

Quan considered this for a moment. "That sound odd, but maybe it true." He shrugged. "We have plenty food for lunch anyway."

Vivi took the crab (carefully) back down to the tidepool and put it in the water.

"There, now you should be happy." He said, watching as another crab approached the one he had just put in.

_Maybe that's one of its friends?_

The other crab was a bit larger, but it's shell home looked considerably smaller. It ran its antennae over the smaller one's shell home. Vivi noticed the smaller one had retreated inside, blocking the entrance with its one big claw.

_Or maybe it isn't?_

Suddenly, the bigger crab reached in and grabbed the smaller one, yanking it from it's shell. In a blink, the bigger crab jumped into the bigger shell!

"Oh!" Vivi exclaimed.

_Why'd it just do that?_

The defeated crab, not wanting to stay exposed, crawled into the other's former shell, even though it was too small.

_That wasn't nice of it at all Or maybe they're supposed to do that? Yeah, Grandpa says animals fight over things a lot. But it still isn't nice to steal someone's house like that._

Vivi shook his head. He would have dwelled further on the subject, but was interupted as several large waves combined to send a few inches of water rushing up to the tidepool where he was, nearly knocking him off balance.

_So much for keeping my clothes dry_

He shrugged. The sun was bright and he'd dry off in a short time anyway. Vivi looked back into the water. The wave had brought other things with it, such as an odd, brightly colored fish.

_How pretty!_

The fish swam through the pool a bit. As the fish opened its mouth to breathe, Vivi noted the many needle-like teeth it had.

_I'd better keep my hands away from that one!_

A tiny fish swam near the colorful one, and was snapped up in the jaws.

_It just ate it!_

The bigger fish began chasing after the smaller ones now, munching on any too slow.

_It's eating all the little fish. Sometimes Grandpa cooks fish, but I don't think I ever thought that they used to be moving around like they are here_

He was starting to get a bit confused, so he walked back over to Quan again.

"You want eat now?" Quan asked.

Vivi realized he was rather hungry. "Um, yeah. But Grandpa, something's confusing me"

"What is it?"

"We eat fish, right?"

"Of course. Fish very tasty!"

"I saw another fish eating the little fish The fish we eat used to be in the water and swimming around?"

"Yes. That bother you?"

"Y-yeah, but I-I'm not sure why it bothers me You said it's wrong to hurt things, and you shouldn't and"

"I see." Quan said, nodding. "Vivi very nice, not want to hurt. But living creatures need eat other creatures to live. It part of life. Not bad thing. Fish and things there so we eat and live. You understand?"

"Kind of" he said, sticking one of his feet under the sand.

_I think I do Yeah, it makes sense But what about_

"Does that mean they're, um, that dead' thing?"

Quan nodded after a moment. "Yes, everything die sometime. It sad when some things die, but that how things are."

Vivi adjusted his hat again. "Oh"

_I'll probably understand it all better when I know more stuff, maybe_

"That good." Quan retrieved some sandwiches from the basket, handing one to Vivi.

"Thanks." He said, sitting on another rock.

_I like the beach. But there are still lots of places to see. I wonder what they're like?_

Quan had recently told him about different places on the Mist Continent, from the city of Alexandria, to the Ice Cavern and Evil Forest. He had even said their were other continents far away across the ocean that even he hadn't been to.

_I wonder if I'll ever be able to go to those places?_

* * *

Finally. He would _finally_ get to go!

Vivi could barely contain his excitement. It wasn't just because that day he turned five. He was also going to be able to go to Treno!

_I wonder what it's like? Maybe I'll meet people like Grandpa. I hope they're nice_

Vivi was also quite happy with the other gift he had received from Quan. It was a small, carved wooden staff with a curl shape on top. It was simple, but he thought it was a great gift.

_Grandpa said it was a Mage's Staff, didn't he? He said most mages use staves as weapons. Of course I'm not gonna' use it to fight or anything!_

"Okay Vivi, we go now. Remember, stay close! No wander off."

"I won't." Vivi promised. The two of two headed through the forest to the nearby city. He liked the forest. Even though there were monsters, he knew he didn't have to worry about them with his Grandpa there. He walked close to Quan, tripping over a tree root occasionally.

"Vivi need be careful." Quan said, shaking his head.

He adjusted his pointy hat. "It's harder than it looks"

_I wonder what a city's like And why does Grandpa always say it's so dangerous?_

"Why's Treno dangerous?" he asked.

"There many thieves there. They steal things."

"Steal?"

"Taking things not yours. You never steal, it wrong."

"Why do the people steal?"

"They not nice people, or they poor and want things."

"What does poor mean?"

"That mean they no have lot of money. They not have fancy things like rich people."

"Um, are we rich or poor?"

_I think our home is pretty fancy. Grandpa owns lots of neat stuff._

"Hmm not either. I have money, but I don't buy many things. I find things I need."

"Oh." He said, not quite understanding. "How far is Treno now?"

"Not far."

After the left the forest, Vivi noticed it started getting dark quickly. He could have sworn it was earlier in the day

"Why's it dark now?"

"It always seem like night near Treno. I not know why."

_Even Grandpa doesn't know? I'm surprised!_

Vivi spotted something big in the distance. Was that the city? He saw many lights, too. As they got closer, he could see many large shapes. There were lots of different ones.

_Those must be people's houses. I wonder what they look like inside?_

They finally arrived at the front gate of the city, which was surrounded by a round wall. The gate swung open into a small square with a fountain to one side.

Vivi stared wide-eyed. As far as he could see were buildings of all shapes and sizes and designs, as well as tons of bright lights which made it seem like day out. There were also lots of people, who came in the same amount of variety. Two armored guards stood silently on either side of the gate.

"Gee" he said after a moment. "This place is big."

"Yes, Treno big place. You careful not get lost."

Quan walked over to a small road to the left. Vivi followed, trying to look around at everything at once. He nearly ran into a big, strange looking blonde man wearing raggy pants. The man scowled at him before walking off.

_How do I tell if someone is a thief or not? Are they bad?_

He remembered the day at the beach when he had seen the crab steal the other's home.

_People must be like that, too But how come its okay for animals to steal stuff and not people?_

"We just going to get few supplies today." Quan explained as they walked down a short flight of stairs. They came out onto a path on a grassy area. Vivi saw several tables with chairs around them, and many well-dressed people sitting there. He saw lots of people in fancy, colorful clothing.

_Are these the rich people?_

He followed Quan to one of the big buildings. As they entered, another person exited, a man in a weird hat and a cape. He nodded to Quan, but gave Vivi what he considered to be a very weird look.

_I just hope people don't eat other people like fish do!_

He knew that was a rather silly thought, so he laughed. Treno wasn't that bad so far. It was nice, actually, with all the lights and things. Just as long as he stayed with Quan there was nothing to worry about. 

He walked inside after his Grandpa, and they went down a hallway into a room filled with shelves.

"Hey, Quan." A young brown-haired man called from behind the counter. "I'm watching the shop for my master today."

"Ah, hello Tom. I just come to get few things."

"Just ask if you need help." Tom said, going back to organizing some things. Then he spotted Vivi. "Hey, who's the little guy with you?"

"Oh, this Vivi!" he said, a touch of pride in his voice. "I told you about him. Today his birthday, and he always want come to city."

Tom smiled at the little mage. "Well, happy birthday, Vivi."

"Th-thanks" he said shyly. "Grandpa, you know him?"

"Of course. I shop here a lot, and he works for man who own store. He also nice person, I know him for long time."

"Oh."

"Hey, Vivi." Tom called.

"Y-yeah?"

"Quan's told us a lot about you. You sound like a great kid. And just so you know, since I'm a friend of Quan's and all, if you ever need help, don't hesitate to ask. Er, try to find me first, though. My master isn't always the most helpful fellow." He laughed a bit.

"Th-thank you, Mr. Tom."

"Just Tom's fine."

Vivi nodded, and went to where his Grandpa was looking at things on shelves. He started browsing too. There were potions and antidotes and things like that. He spotted a few weapons in cases.

Then he heard something out in the hall. It sounded like people talking. He looked up to see a small face look into the room, then suddenly vanish.

_I wonder who that was?_

He looked back to see Quan speaking to Tom. He didn't think it would hurt anything, so he stepped out into the hallway. At first he didn't see anyone, and was startled when he spotted two figures standing to the left.

They were two boys, and both looked like they were around 12. They were dressed in rather raggedy clothes, and their hair was uncombed. One was taller than the other, and both had blonde hair under their hats.

_Are they kids like me? Gee, I wonder if I should say something_

"Um h-hello." He managed to say after a moment.

The two boys exchanged glances before looking back at him.

_I don't like the way they're looking at me I hope they're not thieves!_

"What do you think it is?" one boy suddenly asked the other.

"How the hell should I know? It came in with that Quan guy, so who knows."

"Hey, what's your name?" the first boy asked, leaning closer.

"Er, u-um V-vivi." He stuttered, suddenly feeling very nervous. "M-my name's Vivi."

"That's a funny name." The first boy scratched his head.

The second grinned. "You're new here, ain'tcha?"

"Um, this is my f-first time in Treno" he said quietly, looking down at his gloved hands.

_I shouldn't have to be so shy But I can't help it, I don't know how to act or anything_

"You with that freak Quan?" the second guy asked.

W_hat? Why'd he say something mean like that? We never did anything to him_

"H-he's not a freak." He said, trying to put some force into his voice. He didn't do very well.

"Whatever." The second boy shrugged. He studied Vivi for a moment. "Hey, whoa, what's with his eyes?" he asked his friend.

"I dunno', what?"

"Look at em, they're all glowin' n' stuff! Damn that's weird!"

Vivi shrank away from the two boys as they tried to get a better look.

_I really don't like this I wanna go back to Grandpa!_

He tried to go past the two boys, but now they were between him and the door.

"Vivi, why don't you take off the hat." The second boy said it as a command.

"Yeah, why're you hiding under there?" the first boy laughed.

Vivi clutched the brim of his hat with the hand not holding his staff and shook his head. "I don't wanna'"

The second boy turned to the first. "You hold im, I'll grab the hat. And anything he may have of value." Both boys laughed.

_Oh no no I shouldn't have left, now something bad's gonna' happen What do I do? Maybe I should run past them?_

Before he could make a decision, the first boy lunged at him. Vivi dodged to one side, and the first one tried grabbing his jacket, but instead got a hold of the staff. With a quick jerk he yanked it from Vivi's hand.

"H-hey!" he protested.

The first boy laughed, holding the staff up higher than Vivi could reach. "If ya' want it, come get it!" With that, the two boys took off running.

_Th-they stole my present!_

He stood in shock for several seconds, unsure what to do. Should he tell Quan, or chase after them?

_They might get away if I tell Grandpa I need to get it back!_

He ran as fast as his short legs could carry him outside. He saw one of the boys vanish up the steps the way they had come. Vivi chased after, but by the time he reached the top, the boys were gone.

"No" he cried, hanging his head. He looked around, and saw a tower to his right, and where they had first entered to the left. He went left. There were only two guards standing there, along with a young girl and a well-dressed older couple who were chatting by the fountain.

_Maybe they saw them go by_

He walked to the little girl, who looking like she was pretty bored.

"Um e-excuse me?" he began timidly. She looked over and smiled.

"Hello." She said, smoothing out the front of her dress. "How do you do?" "I-I'm fine, thanks"

_This girl sounds real nice. A lot better than those two boys_

"D-did you see two boys run past here?"

She nodded. "They went over into the bad part of town. My mommy and daddy say I can't go there. They say I can't talk to the kids from there, either. Are you from there?"

"N-no, I don't live here"

The girl looked like she was about to say something, but she was interrupted as the woman from the chatting couple yanked her away from Vivi.

"How many times need I remind you, you do not associate with those people!" she scolded.

"Mother, he doesn't even live here!" the girl said angrily. "Don't be so rude!"

"Don't speak to me that way, young lady. Now you go sit over with your father." She said, pushing the girl in the direction. Then the woman directed her glare at Vivi. He swallowed hard, looking up at her from under his hat.

"S-sorry miss" he tried to apologize, but the women just hmphed' and turned away.

_Wow, people can act so different I wonder why some of them are nice, and some of them act so mean? I guess that's why Grandpa didn't want to take me here, because of the people who'd be mean_

The little mage went to the path on the right this time. The surroundings on that side of town were vastly different. The buildings looked sturdy, but were much less fancy, and in a greater state of disrepair. Not to mention all the shady looking people roaming about...

Vivi took a deep breath, adjusted his hat, and walked further down the street. He didn't see any sign of the two boys, and was beginning to wonder if he'd ever see that staff again He began getting very nervous, clutching the sides of his hat.

_I shouldn't of come I shoulda' asked Grandpa for help Now somethin' really bad's gonna happen_

He looked around nervously, expecting someone to jump out at him or something.

_I shouldn't be too paranoid though_

He saw a man working behind a stand near him, and walked over.

"Um, e-excuse me sir?" he said quietly. The man didn't hear him. "Sir?" he said a little louder. The man looked up. "U-um have y-you seen two boys, uh, one of them is carrying a wood staff?"

The man scratched his head in thought. "Yeah, I think I seen something like that. I think I see em over that way." He pointed toward one of the houses.

"Th-thank you, sir." He said, nodding. Though he wasn't sure how he was going to get his staff back, he walked over there. The house looked about the same as all the others, and he saw lights in the upper windows. The door was open, or rather it had fallen off its hinges. He was about to peek inside, but suddenly lost what little nerve he had managed to gather.

_I should probably go back and get Grandpa That's a really good idea. Yeah, I'll go-_

His train of thought was interrupted as he was suddenly tackled from behind. He and his assailant went tumbling into the house, and Vivi found himself pinned to the floor by the taller of the two boys.

_Oh no_

The second boy appeared behind the first, brandishing the staff. "We knew you'd come lookin' for it."

Now Vivi saw three other children of different ages, all wearing raggy clothes. There were two younger boys and a young girl.

"Aw, come on, leave im alone." the young girl insisted. "He didn't hurt no one.'

"We just wanna' see what's under that hat, that's all." The first boy shrugged.

"What kind of kid is he?" another boy asked.

"It doesn't look like he has a face" the other remarked.

_Why are they being like this? What did I do to them?_

Vivi felt like crying again. He couldn't understand at all why the two boys were being mean to him. Quan had taught him how he should be polite to people he met. Weren't other people taught the same?

Quan had neglegted to tell the little mage what he should do if he ever got in trouble. Vivi relied on the Qu for protection, since he really had no way of defending himself. He had yet to figure out how to use the magic Quan had said black mages could use

_People must really be like those animals I saw, except they hurt for no reason_

"See if he has any money." One boy urged.

"I doubt it, I think he lives with that weird Quan guy." The tall blonde boy said distastefully.

"That guy freaks me out. Way too weird."

"Huh, this little guy's weird too."

_I don't understand Why are they saying these things about Grandpa and me? They don't need to be so mean_

"Well come on, take the damn hat off." The second boy told the first.

"Yeah, yeah."

Vivi felt tears coming to his eyes again, and fought not to cry. The little girl spoke up again.

"Look, you're makin' him upset! Just leave him alone, he's just a kid. How'd you like if someone was pickin' on you like that?"

_At least not all of them are bad_

"Have you ever seen a kid like that? Come on, I just want to see if he even has a face!" the second boy argued.

"It doesn't matter, now just let him GO!" she shouted angrily. The boy flinched a bit.

The first boy let go of Vivi's arms. "So, do I or don't I?"

The little girl and the second blonde boy began arguing. The boy sighed. "Jeez"

_He let go What should I do, though? Am I gonna' have to fight them?_

He remembered the small crab from the beach, getting it's shell taken. It hadn't fought back, and so it lost it's home

_But I don't know what to do Grandpa always says not to hurt anyone. But I don't think they'll listen if I ask them_

"How do I know you guys ain't gonna go beat im half to death up after you take off his hat? That's what you tried to do to that old guy!"

"We aren't gonna beat him half to death he's so shrimpy, I think a quarter of the way'll do." The boy laughed at his joke', along with one of the younger boys. The girl scowled at both of them, and the younger one shrank away.

"You are a big stupid bully!"

_At least that girl's sticking up for meB-but are they saying they're gonna' hurt me?_

"What if that Quan guy comes after us?" another guy asked. "He might, you know, eat us or something."

"We'll beat him up too!" the second boy snapped angrily. "Now hurry up and take his damn hat off!"

Vivi had heard more than enough. He was scared, but he started to feel something else

_They're threatening Grandpa and me They have no right to do that But I don't know what I can do_

The boy who had him pinned backed away a bit for some reason. "Um, guys?"

"I won't stand and let you guys do this!" the girl shouted.

"Then leave." The second boy said simply. "Or we'll make ya' leave."

"Guys!" he said more insistently.

"What?"

"Somethin' weird's happening. Look at his eyes!"

Vivi's eyes had started glowing much brighter for some reason.

_I need to do something I want to do something What can I do?_

He felt it slightly at first. Something felt funny inside him. It was strange, he had never felt it before. He could hardy describe it.

_What is this? It's feels like some power I don't understand_

"Just get his hat." The boy said again.

"He's doing somethin'." Another boy said. "What's he doin'?"

_They had no right to be so mean_

He stood up, lifting his hands in front of him, almost unconsciously.

_I don't want them to hurt me_

Vivi felt the weird power grow tremendously. He knew he could control it, though he didn't know what it was. As the children watched, suddenly a complex pattern of circles and arcane symbols appears in the air around the small mage. His eyes flashed brightly, and from his gloved hands red flickering flames burst forth. The group of kids screamed and dodged away as the fire shot out, barely missing all of them, and instead setting the carpet in the room ablaze.

"Oh shit, let's get out of here!" one of the boys shouted. The group ran past the flames and out of the door.

Vivi didn't remember leaving the building, but the next he knew, he was standing outside, watching as several people rushed over with buckets of water to douse the flames.

_What happened? What did I do?_

He looked down at his gloved hands, expected them to look charred from the fire that had just been released from them. But they, and the rest of him, were unscathed.

_Was that magic?_

_I can use magic?_

He felt an almost giddy happiness rush over him. He had used magic! Without even knowing how, he had! He couldn't wait to tell Quan!

His excited thoughts were interrupted as he remembered what had almost happened.

_Those other kids I didn't hurt them, did I?_

He looked around frantically. Were they still inside the burning building?

Vivi suddenly had a horrifying image of the group of them, set on fire by his hand

_No no no_

He shook his head, trying to rid himself of that image. They had wanted to hurt him, but he didn't wish that kind of fate on anyone

Vivi whirled around as he heard a noise, and was relieved to see the group of children. They were all watching him, their faces pale. He heard some of them quietly say things to each other, which he could almost make out.

"did he use magic?"

"only monsters n' stuff could"

"it came from his hands"

"gonna' use fire on us?"

There was a clatter next to him. He looked to see his staff.

"T-take it back." The second boy who had thrown it said nervously. "We're real sorry we took it."

_He apologized_

"Thank you" he began to walk towards them, but halted when the children backed away.

_Are they afraid of me?_

"Just don't burn us or nothin!" another boy called out.

"I don't wanna burn anyone" Vivi tried to tell them, but they must not of heard him.

"Let's get the hell out of here" the second boy said, and the group quickly dispersed. For a moment, the one little girl remained, watching Vivi with concern in her eyes, until another child grabbed her arm and dragged her away.

_I didn't mean to try and hurt anyone I didn't hurt anyone! Why are they afraid? They're the ones who were gonna' hurt me_

He picked up the staff from the ground. He saw the last of the fire be put out in the house.

_I shouldn't of left the store Grandpa's gonna' be worried now_

The young mage stood there for quite some time, his head lowered, until he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Vivi?" It was Quan.

"I'm s-sorry I wondered off" Vivi said quietly. "A l-lot of bad stuff happened"

"I just glad Vivi safe. We should go home now. You tell all about then."

"Okay Grandpa"

_Note: Okay, in explanation of the whole thing in Treno Well, one thing that always stuck out in my mind from the game was that Vivi says Puck was the first friend he ever made. So I needed to think of why didn't Vivi ever make friends during those 9 years before the game. ::sniff:: Poor Vivi Don't worry, I'll try and have some more happy stuff happen in the next part! ^_^_


	4. Child of the Mist (Part 4)

Child of the Mist (Part 4)

* * *

"It not bad what you did." Quan said back at the cavern after hearing what had happened. "Vivi right in defending self. Nothing bad about it."

"But I could of hurt them" he said, tugging on the sides of his hat.

"You not hurt them. They all okay, right?" Quan spoke as he got some of his cooking equipment from the shelves.

"Yeah, but"

"But what?"

"I-I dunno'"

"Vivi no need be sad." Quan said, turning towards the child. "Nothing be sad about. Vivi okay, not hurt anyone. And Vivi use magic now! That something be happy about."

"I guess so"

Quan didn't want Vivi to stay upset, and mentioning magic seemed to cheer him up a bit, so he decided to stay on that subject.

"Can you show me?" Quan asked.

"Huh?"

"Show me your magic. You use fire magic?"

"U-um, yeah"

"Help by lighting stove for me." Quan pointed to a low stone hearth under a rather large fry pan. "Can you?"

"I-I'll try" Vivi stood in front of it.

_I wonder if I can even do that magic thing again_

He closed his eyes, concentrating. A few seconds later, a smaller flame leapt from his hands onto the wood under the pan.

_That was pretty easy_

"That very good, Vivi!" Quan said. "I knew you use magic someday. It very good you do. It make cooking easier."

Vivi laughed a bit. "You're welcome, Grandpa"

_I guess I can't stay upset about what happened forever. Next time we go to Treno, maybe I can try and tell those kids I didn't wanna' hurt them_

* * *

The next time they returned, however, Vivi found that there was little chance of talking with the children again.

_Are they still afraid of me?_

He watched sadly as one of the blonde boys from the group had quickly walked off upon seeing the mage.

_Maybe I shouldn't bother then I don't want them to be more afraid of me_

The little mage wasn't sure what to do. He had tried asking Quan about it, but the Qu couldn't come up with a good answer, either.

_It's nice to have Grandpa to talk to, but sometimes I wanna' talk with other kids like me_

"Vivi need try make friends." Quan had said. "It not hard, just try talk to people."

_What if they turn out to be mean like those two boys? Or maybe I can find that one girl who was being nice to me_

Unfortunately, he found his skills in making friends to be lacking quite a bit. Combined with the fact there weren't that many children living in Treno to begin with, Vivi doubted he'd ever make any friends.

The noble children were more difficult to talk to than the poor ones who avoided him. This being because they were either snobs who thought Vivi wasn't worth their time to answer, or their parents were the snobby ones.

Needless to say, Vivi felt very discouraged.

"Vivi not need worry. Someday I take you to Alexandria. Many children Vivi's age, you make lots of friends." Quan said assuredly.

"Maybe for my next birthday we can go?" he asked hopefully.

"We see."

* * *

Vivi wanted to go out and see all the things in the world that Quan had told him about, but at the same time he wasn't all that adventurous. For the time being, he was happy enough staying home.

He had always been good at keeping himself occupied during the times Quan was busy with something. He liked looking through the books Quan had, even though they were mostly cookbooks. Speaking of cooking

"Vivi, maybe I teach you cook today. Is very important skill." Quan said one day. "I think you old enough now."

"What? Cook?" Vivi repeated. "I-I dunno about that"

"Cooking easy, you no worry. I show you."

"UmAlrighty!"

_I've never cooked anything before I help Grandpa sometimes, but Well, I guess it can't be too hard. I've watched Grandpa hundreds of times_

"What do I do first?" he asked.

"That depend what you going to cook."

"Um how about something easy?"

"Let me think Cake? No, I not have right ingredients Oh, maybe you make pie? I buy apples other day, so Vivi can make delicious apple pie."

"Oh, I like pie" 

_(Lil' author's note: ::snicker:: Sorry, unintentional TFWW fic reference Sorry, now returning you to the fic)_

"So, what do I do first?"

"You need get out pie plate. They over on that shelf." Quan pointed at the one. Vivi reached to get one on a lower shelf.

"This one?" he asked.

"Yes, but you need be care-"

CRASH!

In attempting to pull one from the shelf, he had caused the ones over it to topple to the floor around him.

"Um sorry" He started putting them back on the shelf, only to have some more bowls fall.

Quan put his hand to his face and shook his head. "I have bad feeling about this"

"What'd you say, Grandpa?"

"I say nothing. Now, you have pie plate And bowl for mixing crust? Good. And one for apples" Quan thought for a moment. "Apples are under shelf over there. You see?"

"Yep!" Vivi got out the bag of apples. "We need flour for the crust, right?"

"Right. Flour over there."

"Got it!"

_This'll be fun! Eating it when it's done'll be nice, too_

Quan listed off the other ingredients, and Vivi got them and set them on the table.

"Now what?" the little mage asked.

"Apples need be peeled and cut up so they can be cooked."

"Oh, I'll need a paring knife, then."

"Er, wait, I think I do that part. I not want Vivi cut himself." Quan said quickly, worried what might happen if the clumsy child were to try anything involving sharp objects

"Um, whatever you say, Grandpa." He said with a shrug. "I can make the crust then, right?"

"Yes, you do that. Now, where is recipe?" Quan got out a cookbook and flipped to one of the pages. "Ah! Here, just follow recipe. It very easy."

"Okay." Vivi took the book while Quan went to peel the apples.

_Let's see a cup of flour? Where's the measuring cup? Oh, there it is_

Vivi set the cup on the table, and picked up the bag of flour to pour some in.

_I'll have to be real careful_

Though he tried to be, the flour had other ideas. Ideas such as WAY too much coming out at one time, causing a cloud of flour to cover anything nearby, including Vivi.

He coughed a few times, and after the flour cleared a bit, he found that the front of his jacket, as well as the floor around him, were covered in flour.

_Oops_

Vivi looked over at Quan, who didn't seem to have noticed.

_I'll clean this up before he even knows what happened!_

He got a small brush and dustpan to clean up the floor, but as he stooped down to clean up the mess, the brim of his hat hit one of the eggs on the table. He cringed when he heard a splat as it landed on the floor next to him.

_This isn't going as well as I would've liked_

"Vivi!" Quan suddenly exclaimed when he finally did turn to see the mess. "What did you?!"

"I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to! P-please don't be mad"

Quan sighed. "I not mad Maybe Vivi not old enough to learn cooking. How about you help clean up, and I finish making pie?"

"O-okay" Vivi said, looking down sadly.

"It okay Vivi, I not mad. You not need be upset. I teach you cook some other time."

"Okay." He said again. "But I wanted to cook something."

"You tried, that what count."

_Ah well I guess cooking just isn't my thing. Besides, I'll always have Grandpa to help me with that._

* * *

One day, when he was almost six years old, Vivi decided he'd go out into the forest by his home by himself. Actually, it was more of an unconscious decision, because he had been standing at the entrance to the cave and spotted something moving around nearby in some tall grass. Curiosity overtaking caution, he went to go see what it was.

_I have magic, so if it is a monster, I can scare it away! At least I hope I can_

He saw a round red ball or something like that, bouncing above the grass. It was moving around. Vivi could honestly say he had never seen anything like it.

Vivi walked slowly through the tall grass, which came up to his shoulders. The red ball was still there.

_What is that??_

Suddenly the ball, jumped up, and darted to the left through the grass.

_Should I chase it?_

He hesitated for a moment, then chased after it. It had stopped again, but when he got close, it darted back to the right.

Vivi was having fun. Whatever this weird thing was didn't seem mean or anything. He just hoped he could find out what it was.

The next time he ran over to it when it stopped, instead of darted to the right, it darted straight up! A white blur jumped up, landed on Vivi's head, and jumped back off.

"Why are you chasing me?!" exclaimed a high-pitched voice.

Vivi looked around, adjusting his hat so he could see. He looked up a bit to see a white, bear-like creature hovering with two tiny purple bat wings. It had a big red nose, two slits for eyes, and a red pompon hanging from the top of its head.

"You shouldn't chase people! It's not nice!" it said again.

"What?" Vivi said, a bit confused.

_Is it a monster? I've never seen a talking monster_

"I-I'm sorry." He said.

The weird thing thought for a moment, and nodded. "It's okay." It flew out of the grassy area and landed on the ground. Vivi followed. "My name's Mogrich." He introduced himself. "What's yours?"

"Vivi" he said. "Um what are you?"

"Me? I'm a moogle. You've never seen a moogle?" Mogrich asked, tilting his head to one side.

"N-no." he admitted. "My Grandpa said something about them once, though"

"Oh. Well, now you've seen a moogle!" Mogrich laughed. "Um, so, Vivi could you help me out with something? If you aren't busy, I mean."

"W-what do you need help with?"

"I need to get to Treno, but, um, I lost my map, and I can't find it" the moogle laughed nervously. "If you could give me some directions"

_It wouldn't hurt anything to help him out_

"Um alrighty." Vivi nodded.

"You will?" the moogle jumped up happily. "Great! So, where is it?"

Vivi pointed to the edge of the forest nearby. "There's a path right through there, and you gotta' go, um left at one part of it and"

"Could you show me?" the young moogle asked hopefully. "You seem to know the way."

"Well I guess." He said with a shrug.

_It'll only take a few minutes. Grandpa won't mind if I help someone out _

The two of them walked, or flew in Mogrich's case, to the trail. After a short time, they came to a split in the trail.

"I-it's easy to get to Treno from here." Vivi said. "Just keep going down the trail and straight ahead. You can't miss it."

"Thanks!" Mogrich said, nodding. "Well, thanks for your help. I need to get to Treno now!" The moogle waved, and flew away down the path.

"Bye!" Vivi called. He looked around the forest.

_This is the first time I've been out here by myself It wasn't so bad with Mogrich here_

He began to get a little nervous and walked hurriedly back along the trail.

_There aren't too many monsters around here. And they don't attack much in the daytime either_

Despite his attempts to assure himself that he'd be fine, he couldn't shake the feeling that at any moment some horrible creature was going to come crashing through the undergrowth, grab him, and swallow his little body in one gulp.

_Grandpa says my imagination sometimes runs away with me He says it's good I have an imagination. But I don't think it's always so good_

Vivi looked around at the forest again. It was quiet, except for the usual sounds of birds chirping and insects buzzing. It was warm out, and some sun filtered down through the branches.

_It's kinda pretty out here. If I stop worrying about monsters and stuff Maybe I don't need to worry about them as much. I can use magic pretty well now, so I can scare them off if-_

He hadn't been paying attention to where he was walking, and had tripped over a rock. He sighed and picked himself up, brushing off his jacket.

_I really need to be more careful_

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something shimmer through the bushes to his left.

_What's that?_

Looking ahead, he could see the exit of the forest in plain view, and the cave a little further. It couldn't hurt to go see what it was. Using his staff, he moved some branches out of the way. No monster awaited him; instead he saw a small clearing, with a tiny, clear pool in the center.

_I've never seen this place before!_

The clearing was surrounded on all sides by dense bushes and tall trees which cast shadows on most of the grass. There were some patches of yellow flowers near the pond, too.

_This place is real pretty I'll have to show Grandpa later._

Vivi looked in the pond, and saw some tadpoles and baby frogs swimming around. A few big frogs were sitting on the edge of it.

_Grandpa likes frogs Maybe I'll get one for him._

He made a clumsy grab for one, but of course it hopped away, making a big splash in the pond. Vivi laughed.

_I should have known I wouldn't have been able to catch it._

Vivi decided to take a rest by a big tree near the pond. He sat down, leaning back against it and crossing his hands over his stomach.

_Just a quick break. I don't want Grandpa to get worried_

He yawned. The clearing was nice and peaceful, and he soon started to feel a bit drowsy

_I should really get go_

He closed his eyes.

* * *

__

__

__

_What?_

_It's dark._

_Why is it dark?_

_Where am I?_

_I can't see anything Am I anywhere at all?_

_WaitI can hear voices_

_:: The prototypes are::_

_I can barely make it out_

_:: shipped to ::_

_I don't_

_:: pleased with the success ::_

_Who's talking? I don't recognize the voice_

_:: black mages will ::_

_Black mages?_

_:: unstoppable army ::_

_Army? I don't understand. What's happening?_

_:: early models are ::_

__

_What are they talking about? Who's talking?_

_:: last longer, but::_

_:: plans will be::_

_:: Gaia will:::_

_:: into Terra::_

_What?_

_I wish I could see something I wanna know who's talking And what they're talking about_

_:: the souls of this::_

__

_:: the queen willaid in::_

_::all too perfect::_

__

__

_I can't hear anything anymore_

_It's still dark_

_Wait I'm moving I can see I'm falling?! No no, I'm fall-_

* * *

Vivi was suddenly jolted awake. He panicked upon seeing darkness around him.

_Am I still dreaming?_

He reached for his staff, shaking. A few moments later, he realized what had happened. He had fallen asleep in the clearing.

_What was that a dream? All I can remember is dark and hearing voices. But I can't remember what they were saying I just remember being confused_

He remembered having a similar dream once or twice before, but he was never able to remember what he had heard in the dream. It was rather annoying. The one part he did remember clearly was the falling part at the end.

_At least I wake up before I hit the ground_

Still a bit bothered by the strange dream, he stood up, looking at the darkness around him. His eyes adjusted and he could make out the trees and the pond. He could hear the frogs croaking.

Being alone in the forest in the day was one thing At night, it was a whole different story.

_It's not too far to home I just need to get back on the trail, and it'll be easy getting out_

He adjusted his hat.

_Which way's the trail, though? I can hardly see a thing_

Vivi heard a branch snap nearby and jumped. Shaking more, he backed into the tree again, clutching his staff with both hands.

_Maybe if I wait Grandpa'll come find me_

In a nearby tree, he heard an owl ask it's usual question of Who?'.

He heard some branches rustle.

_Probably the wind_

Vivi slowly walked in the direction he was pretty sure the trail was in.

_If I only had a light or something_

He stopped in his tracks.

_Wait huh, I almost forgot_

Almost feeling embarrassed for forgetting, he held out one hand, palm up, and created a tiny flame there. It lit up the clearing nicely.

_Much better!_

Keeping the flame there wasn't too difficult, and Vivi could see where he had entered through the bushes. He walked back onto the trail, and towards the exit of the forest. The little mage stopped suddenly as he heard several twigs snap right behind him.

He whirled around, fully expecting to see some monster with huge fangs there, ready to rip him to tiny bits.

"G-grandpa!" he exclaimed in relief upon seeing the Qu there.

"Vivi! I look everywhere for you!" Quan said, sounding angry, but also relieved at finding him.

"Sorry, I kinda' fell asleep" Vivi said, looking down. He extinguished the flame in his palm since Quan carried a lamp. "I didn't mean to"

Quan shook his head. "You always wander off. Make me very worried."

"Sorry" he said again. "I was just helping a moogle get to Treno, and I got a bit sidetracked"

"It okay. I happy you not get hurt, that all." Quan said. "But I guess it good you try do things on own."

"Why's that?" Vivi asked as they started walking home.

"Someday Vivi be on own. I not be here for Vivi forever."

_What does he mean by that?_

"Am I gonna' have to leave someday? O-or are you gonna' leave?" the child asked.

Quan shook his head. "You not have to worry now."

"O-okay"

_Grandpa not here? Why wouldn't he be?_

He shrugged a bit. Quan had said he didn't need to worry. So his thoughts moved to the weird dream again. The memory was a bit clearer than from the other times, but he wished he could remember more It was more like a memory than something that his imagination had created, even if his imagination came up with some weird things

* * *

Vivi noticed Quan starting to act strange a while later. Of course, it wasn't that the Qu hadn't _always_ acted strange, so stranger than usual' would be a better way of putting it. Vivi had noticed a change in the way his Grandpa spoke about things, though. He remember that when he was younger, Quan had the usual Qu mentality that consisted of all things food and food related. Vivi had asked why it was so important, and Quan had explained, more or less, that in his tribe, eating different foods was how one would learn and become happy. (Or something along those lines.) Vivi never did accept that philosophy (or even fully understand it for that matter), and after a while, even Quan himself mentioned similar thoughts.

"There more things in life than food. Why I not see that before?" Quan had said one day, half to himself and half to Vivi. 

"What?" Vivi had asked.

"I just been thinking a lot" Quan said, looking outside at the ledge. "Maybe I spend most my life doing wrong thing?"

_He sounded upset_

Vivi hadn't asked, and just watched his Grandpa with concern. He had been acting almost depressed, Vivi remembered. That had been a few months earlier. Vivi had told Quan about the clearing, and he agreed it was a nice place.

_Grandpa's been taking longer walks than usual_

He had definitely been acting strangely. Not strange in a bad way, just different than what Vivi was used to. Such as taking long walks. (Qus probably weren't meant to be too terribly active.) Quan had even bought some new books that weren't related to cooking.

Vivi had asked Quan if anything was wrong.

"Wrong?" Quan had said. "No. It hard to explain If I figure out, I tell Vivi."

_Figure what out?_

* * *

Vivi was sitting at the table in the one small cave of his home. He was using some paint, brushes and paper Quan had gotten for him, and was trying to paint a self-portrait. Quan didn't have any mirrors, though, so Vivi had to try and see himself in the reflection on a shiny bowl. He thought what he had done so far looked pretty nice.

_I wonder where Grandpa is? _

Quan had been gone longer than usual on his trip to Treno.

_Probably got sidetracked_

He didn't let it worry him.

The little mage nearly fell out of his chair when a few seconds later Quan came running into the room.

"Oh, didn't mean startle you." Quan apologized.

"You look happy about something." Vivi noted. That was a bit of an understatement. Quan was jumping he was so exited about something. He calmed down for a moment.

"I been thinking about many things And I get it now, Vivi! I think I always did, but not realize until recently!" Quan waved his arms up and down.

"Um, get what, Grandpa?" Vivi was more than a little confused by Quan's behavior.

Quan paused a moment. "Before Vivi come, I like all Qu. I think eating way to happiness. But Vivi come, I see that not way. Vivi show me that there other things in world, and it not matter if they food! Vivi show me things other than what real too, by using imagination. Then I wonder if maybe I wasted life doing wrong things because I not know sooner, but now I know it not matter!" He started jumping again. "Vivi, I find fulfillment without eating!"

_I think I see what he's saying It must be real important to him. This is the first time I've seen him so happy in a while. Then I guess I should be happy too!_

Vivi smiled, even though the gesture couldn't really be seen. "I'm glad you figured out your problem, Grandpa."

"I glad, too. I feel much better now. Now Vivi, you want to go with me to beach again? Maybe we collect seashells."

"Sure!"

_(Note: And that's the end of that part The whole thing with Quan little revelation' probably should have come earlier, but I guess it doesn't matter a whole lot Also, in explanation of the dream, for those who didn't figure it out That was a kind of half memory if Vivi's from before he became sentient. ::shrug:: Just a weird idea I had ^_^;; Kind of an uneventful chapter, I know, but it's hard to come up with stuff to happen! _ Now to work on the next part... Gah, the next part's gonna be the hardest! )_


	5. Well...

...

Um... no, this isn't the final chapter of 'Child of the Mist'. What is it, you ask? Well... just read.

See, I really want to finish this fic. It was my first FF9 fic, and people really liked it. Problem is... well, aside from the fact I can't think of how to do the ending... I made lots of mistakes.

Bottom line, I need to rewrite this whole fic. You can stop reading here, or read just how I messed up... (Which confuses the heck out of me.)

See, on the very spiffy [www.ultimania.com][1] which is the official Japanese FF9 site (I think?), they have timelines for all the characters. (Did you know Zorn and Thorn are about 90 years old...? Creepy, huh? =P Anyhoo...) I was lucky enough to get translations of them. And, ya see, according to that, Vivi isn't really nine years old. He's closer in age to all the other mages (a bit older, of course. I put 'im at nine months. They never said years! =Þ). And Quan found him in August of 1799. The game starts sometimes in 1800. (I think... Well, something like that.)

Now, can you think of a SINGLE REASON Vivi would have been made nine years before the start of the game, but other black mages weren't being made til only about a year before the game...? ...Didn't think so. That always bugged me as I was writing this... (Not to mention all the time when nothing happens in the story. Nine years is a long time to write about.) 

Now, the only problem I see with this is what is on the wall in Quan's dwelling, about 'adopting Vivi 6 months ago.' Because there isn't quite six months between August and January. So... I'm really not sure here. Someone messed up, but I'm not sure who...

But I do believe that Vivi isn't really nine years old. It would be much easier for me to write about a shorter time period. I could go into more detail, do some things I wanted to do the first time, and I can make it better and all... ( The other thing is I cannot accept that in nine years, Vivi never made a single friend. A few months, I can understand.)

So... probably when I finish Innocence Lost, I'll work on the re-writing of this. Sorry to keep you all waiting. ^_^;;;

   [1]: http://www.ultimania.com



End file.
